Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world, and a profound history make Cambodia an unmissable destination in Southeast Asia.
Cambodia is a country that stays with you emotionally: it has the largest temple complex in the world, Angkor, one of humanity's wonders, and at the same time it carries the recent and brutal memory of the Khmer Rouge genocide (1975-1979). Travelling it means combining wonder at Angkor Wat at dawn with reflection in front of history, plus quiet beaches, jungle and one of the warmest, most smiling populations in Southeast Asia, in a country still less crowded and cheaper than its neighbours.
The trip is organised around a few key points. Siem Reap is the base for the Angkor temples and the star destination. Phnom Penh, the capital on the banks of the Mekong, holds the modern history — the Royal Palace, but also the genocide memorial sites. The south has the coast: Sihanoukville, much changed by the casinos, and above all quiet islands like Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem, plus relaxed Kampot and Kep. Battambang, in the northwest, brings rural and colonial Cambodia. Almost everything connects by cheap bus or short domestic flights.
The best of it is Angkor, which justifies the trip on its own, and how genuine and cheap Cambodia still is compared with Thailand or Vietnam. What surprises and challenges you is the weight of its recent history: understanding what happened under the Khmer Rouge gives the trip another dimension and explains a great deal about the country today.
The official currency is the Cambodian riel (KHR), but in practice the US dollar is used everywhere: prices, hotels, restaurants and ATMs are generally handled in dollars. Arrive with small dollar notes (1, 5, 10) in good condition, because torn or very worn ones are sometimes refused. The golden rule is 4,000 riel to 1 dollar: even if you pay in dollars, change under a dollar comes back in riel. Keep some riel for markets, street food, local transport and rural areas like Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri or Kratie, where the dollar circulates less.
Full converter for KHR →There are no direct flights from the Americas or Europe: you arrive with connections through Asian or Middle Eastern hubs. The two main international airports are Phnom Penh (Techo International, PNH) and the new Siem Reap-Angkor International (SAI, opened in 2023 and the ideal base for the Angkor temples). Overland, Cambodia is well connected by bus with Thailand (from Bangkok), Vietnam (from Ho Chi Minh City, a heavily used route) and Laos; there are border crossings with visa on arrival. Inside the country, buses connect the main cities cheaply, and you can also travel by water: boats on the Tonlé Sap river and the Mekong link Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang and Kratie, a slow but very picturesque journey.
Cambodia has a tropical climate with two seasons. The best time to travel is the dry season, November to March: clear skies, less humidity and more bearable temperatures, ideal for walking around Angkor for hours. It is high season, with more tourists in Siem Reap and slightly higher prices. From March to May comes extreme heat, with temperatures easily above 35-38 °C and oppressive humidity: touring temples at midday in April is brutal, so if you go then, start at dawn and rest at midday.
The rainy monsoon season runs from May or June to October, with heavy downpours, generally in the afternoon, which leave the landscape intensely green and the temple moats full, and prices lower. It is not a bad time to visit Angkor — there are fewer people and the reflection photographs are spectacular — though some rural roads become difficult. The level of Tonlé Sap lake rises enormously in the rains, which completely changes the landscape of the floating villages. In short: for the best general weather, aim for November to February.
Khmer cooking is milder and less spicy than Thai, with sweet-and-sour flavours and plenty of herbs. The flagship dish is fish amok, a creamy steamed fish curry with coconut milk and a spice paste (kroeung), served in a banana leaf. Other essentials: lok lak (stir-fried beef with a lime and Kampot pepper sauce), bai sach chrouk (grilled pork with rice, the typical breakfast), the Khmer breakfast noodles (nom banh chok) and the famous Kampot pepper, which has its own designation of origin. For the bold, the markets sell fried insects, tarantulas included, especially near Skuon.
You eat very cheaply at the markets and local canteens: a full plate costs USD 2 to 4, verified July 2026, and since prices are handled directly in dollars it is easy to work out. Siem Reap and Phnom Penh have a good range of restaurants for every taste. The local beer (Angkor, Cambodia) is extremely cheap, often under USD 1 at happy hour. Tipping is not obligatory but is much appreciated, as it helps low-income workers; tourist restaurants usually add a service charge.
Cambodia is generally a calm destination and the people are very friendly, but some precautions are worth bearing in mind. In Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, bags and phones snatched from motorbikes are common: do not carry your bag on the road side and do not walk along looking at your phone. Always agree the tuk-tuk price before getting in and use apps like Grab or PassApp in the cities. Two serious warnings particular to this country: first, the risk of unexploded landmines in remote rural areas near the Thai border, so do not leave marked paths in the countryside. Second, be careful of scams and gambling in the border-area casinos.
Hepatitis A and typhoid should be up to date; in rural and jungle areas (Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri) there can be malaria, and there is dengue throughout the country, so repellent is key. Tap water is not drinkable: always drink bottled. Cambodian healthcare is limited: for anything serious, many travellers are treated in or transferred to Bangkok, in neighbouring Thailand, so travel insurance with good medical and evacuation cover is essential. The emergency numbers are 117 for police, 119 for ambulance and 118 for fire, though they do not always answer in English; Siem Reap has a tourist police force that does, verified July 2026.
Cambodia is among the cheapest countries in Southeast Asia, with the advantage that almost everything is paid directly in dollars, so it is easy to keep track. On a backpacker profile you travel comfortably on USD 25 to 35 a day; a mid-range profile runs USD 50 to 70 a day; and from USD 100 a day you travel with room to spare, verified July 2026. The big and somewhat particular cost here is the Angkor pass, which is not cheap and should be budgeted separately.
Concrete references, July 2026: a hostel dorm bed costs USD 5 to 12 and a decent private double USD 15 to 30. A plate at a local canteen runs USD 2 to 4 and a meal at a tourist restaurant USD 5 to 10. A tuk-tuk driver for a full day on the Angkor circuit costs USD 15 to 25; a short tuk-tuk ride in town USD 1 to 3. A bus between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is around USD 10 to 15. The key figure: the Angkor pass costs about USD 37 for 1 day, USD 62 for 3 days and USD 72 for 7 days. Local beer is often under USD 1.
The language is Khmer, with its own alphabet, so you will not be able to read much of anything; in the tourist areas of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh plenty of people manage basic English, but outside them the level drops considerably, so Google Translate offline helps. Cambodia is a devout Theravada Buddhist country: shoes come off entering temples, shoulders and knees must be covered (this is enforced at Angkor), you do not touch anyone's head or point with your feet, and monks are treated with respect — women should not touch them. The traditional greeting is the 'sampeah', palms together with a slight bow. One sensitive point: a great many people lost family in the genocide, so it is approached with tact.
The plug is type A/C/G — you will see several formats, with flat and round pins both common — and the voltage is 230 V, so bring a universal adapter and check your chargers accept 220-240 V. Connectivity is surprisingly good and cheap: buy a tourist SIM or eSIM from Cellcard, Smart or Metfone on arrival, around USD 5 to 10 with plenty of data. Two pieces of advice from having been there: carry small dollar notes in good condition, because torn or very worn ones are refused and change under a dollar comes back in riel at 4,000 to the dollar; and take Angkor slowly over several days and starting early, because the heat and the sheer number of temples wear you out if you try to see it all in one go.
Few countries carry both a peak so high and an abyss so deep as Cambodia. On the same land where a civilisation built Angkor —the largest pre-industrial city the world ever knew and the biggest religious temple on the planet—, six centuries later a regime emptied the cities at gunpoint and killed, in just three years and eight months, close to a quarter of its own population. Between those two extremes, the Khmer Empire and the Khmer Rouge, runs a history no traveller should explore without understanding.
This is the story of a people, the Khmer, who were the dominant power of mainland Southeast Asia for six centuries and then survived, wedged between two larger neighbours —Siam to the west, Vietnam to the east—, the loss of territory, the French protectorate, the Cold War, a genocide and a foreign occupation. We tell it with real names, dates and figures, without euphemisms and without sensationalism, because the Angkor that dazzles and the Tuol Sleng that chills are two faces of the same country.
Read the full history of Cambodia →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
